February 3, 2011 5:28 PM
Fort Hood Remembers Victims of 2009 Rampage
Last Updated 4:06 p.m. ET
Family members of the 13 people killed one year ago during a shooting rampage at Fort Hood kneeled, cried and ran their hands across their loved one's names etched in a 6-foot-tall granite memorial unveiled Friday at the Texas Army post.
Many families of the 12 soldiers and one civilian who died on Nov. 5, 2009, met each other for the first time at the anniversary memorial, hugging and weeping together.
"It was so emotional to be with the other families and to remember and honor our loved ones we lost on this day," said Leila Hunt Willingham, whose brother, Spc. Jason Dean "J.D." Hunt, was killed.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal - Love leaves a memory no one can steal" is engraved at the top of the rectangular marker that will be unveiled near other post memorials on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the shooting.
Until now, the only outward reminders of the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military base have been several wreaths and crosses along the fence built around the now-shuttered building where it happened.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh presented awards to more than 50 soldiers and civilians whose actions "went above and beyond the call of duty" - including the two police officers who first responded to the scene and engaged in separate gun battles with the shooter. Capt. John Gaffaney, who was fatally shot after he threw a chair at the gunman, is to receive an award posthumously.
One Year After Rampage, Fort Hood Still Healing
Complete Coverage: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, said, "Our home was attacked ... not in a distant battlefield but right here ... and American heroes sacrificed their lives."
The crowd rose to its feet and applauded, and some cheered when medals were presented to Officer Kim Munley and Sgt. Mark Todd, the two civilian Fort Hood police officers who engaged in a gunbattle with the shooter, eventually wounding him. Munley was wounded by the gunman.
Todd said he thought about the shooting every day.
"It's not about us. It's about the families," Todd said after the ceremony. "You never know what can happen. You've just got to rely on training and pay attention to the little things."
The victims' families also talked to the officers and soldiers who were wounded or who helped that day.
Kerry Cahill, whose father, Michael Cahill, was killed, hugged Staff Sgt. Zackary Filip, a combat medic who had recently returned from Afghanistan and helped about 20 wounded soldiers that day. Filip was among those who received a medal Friday.
"I wanted to meet the people who knew Dad ... and to say `thank you,"' Kerry Cahill said.
The awards ceremony was followed by a moment of silence and a post-wide retreat ceremony.
The commemoration continues on Saturday with a series of marathon runs, and a concert, "Rock the Hood."
For many, Friday's ceremony was the first time since the aftermath of the attack on Nov. 5, 2009, that they have come together to remember what happened.
Those at Fort Hood rarely discuss the tragedy, and Army combat uniforms hide most scars marring the bodies of more than two dozen soldiers wounded that day.
"Nobody talks about it. It's too much to handle," said Staff Sgt. Jeannette Juroff, who can see the medical building's roof from her desk. "I'll have my moments, and I'll catch myself staring at it. Sometimes a tear will come out of my eye, and I don't even realize it."
One year ago, a gunman wearing an Army combat uniform stood near the building's front door, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - which means "God is great!" in Arabic - and opened fire in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers get vaccines and other tests, witnesses say. He fired rapidly, pausing only to reload, shooting at soldiers hiding under desks and those fleeing the building, according to witnesses.
The gunman was identified by witnesses and authorities as Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and American-born Muslim who was to deploy to Afghanistan the following month. Hasan, who was paralyzed from the chest down when he was shot that day, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. His Article 32 hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to send him to trial will resume later this month.
"It's a chapter in this Army that no matter how many tears may fall will never, ever be washed away and will be part of our history forever," McHugh told about 1,000 people sitting in chairs under tents with other soldiers and families standing in a field with several other memorial markers.
Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, said, "Our home was attacked ... not in a distant battlefield but right here ... and American heroes sacrificed their lives."
Some of the wounded soldiers later deployed with shrapnel left in their bodies or haunted by nightmares. Others recovered and have returned to duty as best they can, despite being told they'll never run again or have full use of their arms.
"There's no other treatment that can be done ... (but) my focus is to heal, to continue to serve," Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford Jr., who was shot five times and lost most vision in his left eye, testified last month at the hearing.
Survivors and the victims' families are in different stages of grief.
Strangers a year ago, the group - which includes some wounded soldiers and their relatives, emergency personnel and others who helped that day - calls itself the "Nov. 5 family." Group members chat online in a private chat room, share information about military benefits and counseling services, and discuss the latest developments in the case against Hasan.
A few have met a couple of times to place wreaths on the fence.
Joleen Cahill, whose husband Michael Grant Cahill died that day, said she wanted to memorialize the shooting site because, "when I would drive by it, I would see the violence, and there was nothing to negate the violence in that area. I wanted to bring some hope and perhaps a little bit of peace."
More Fort Hood Coverage:
Fort Hood Witness: Gunman Shot Pregnant Soldier
Ft. Hood Rampage Video Allegedly Ordered Deleted
Ft. Hood Relived: "Never Leave a Fallen Comrade"
Fort Hood Victim: Hasan Saw My Eyes, Shot Me
Ft. Hood Hearing Adjourns as Defense Seeks Delay
Family members of the 13 people killed one year ago during a shooting rampage at Fort Hood kneeled, cried and ran their hands across their loved one's names etched in a 6-foot-tall granite memorial unveiled Friday at the Texas Army post.
Many families of the 12 soldiers and one civilian who died on Nov. 5, 2009, met each other for the first time at the anniversary memorial, hugging and weeping together.
"It was so emotional to be with the other families and to remember and honor our loved ones we lost on this day," said Leila Hunt Willingham, whose brother, Spc. Jason Dean "J.D." Hunt, was killed.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal - Love leaves a memory no one can steal" is engraved at the top of the rectangular marker that will be unveiled near other post memorials on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the shooting.
Until now, the only outward reminders of the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military base have been several wreaths and crosses along the fence built around the now-shuttered building where it happened.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh presented awards to more than 50 soldiers and civilians whose actions "went above and beyond the call of duty" - including the two police officers who first responded to the scene and engaged in separate gun battles with the shooter. Capt. John Gaffaney, who was fatally shot after he threw a chair at the gunman, is to receive an award posthumously.
One Year After Rampage, Fort Hood Still Healing
Complete Coverage: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, said, "Our home was attacked ... not in a distant battlefield but right here ... and American heroes sacrificed their lives."
The crowd rose to its feet and applauded, and some cheered when medals were presented to Officer Kim Munley and Sgt. Mark Todd, the two civilian Fort Hood police officers who engaged in a gunbattle with the shooter, eventually wounding him. Munley was wounded by the gunman.
Todd said he thought about the shooting every day.
"It's not about us. It's about the families," Todd said after the ceremony. "You never know what can happen. You've just got to rely on training and pay attention to the little things."
The victims' families also talked to the officers and soldiers who were wounded or who helped that day.
Kerry Cahill, whose father, Michael Cahill, was killed, hugged Staff Sgt. Zackary Filip, a combat medic who had recently returned from Afghanistan and helped about 20 wounded soldiers that day. Filip was among those who received a medal Friday.
"I wanted to meet the people who knew Dad ... and to say `thank you,"' Kerry Cahill said.
The awards ceremony was followed by a moment of silence and a post-wide retreat ceremony.
The commemoration continues on Saturday with a series of marathon runs, and a concert, "Rock the Hood."
For many, Friday's ceremony was the first time since the aftermath of the attack on Nov. 5, 2009, that they have come together to remember what happened.
Those at Fort Hood rarely discuss the tragedy, and Army combat uniforms hide most scars marring the bodies of more than two dozen soldiers wounded that day.
"Nobody talks about it. It's too much to handle," said Staff Sgt. Jeannette Juroff, who can see the medical building's roof from her desk. "I'll have my moments, and I'll catch myself staring at it. Sometimes a tear will come out of my eye, and I don't even realize it."
One year ago, a gunman wearing an Army combat uniform stood near the building's front door, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - which means "God is great!" in Arabic - and opened fire in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers get vaccines and other tests, witnesses say. He fired rapidly, pausing only to reload, shooting at soldiers hiding under desks and those fleeing the building, according to witnesses.
The gunman was identified by witnesses and authorities as Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and American-born Muslim who was to deploy to Afghanistan the following month. Hasan, who was paralyzed from the chest down when he was shot that day, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. His Article 32 hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to send him to trial will resume later this month.
"It's a chapter in this Army that no matter how many tears may fall will never, ever be washed away and will be part of our history forever," McHugh told about 1,000 people sitting in chairs under tents with other soldiers and families standing in a field with several other memorial markers.
Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, said, "Our home was attacked ... not in a distant battlefield but right here ... and American heroes sacrificed their lives."
Some of the wounded soldiers later deployed with shrapnel left in their bodies or haunted by nightmares. Others recovered and have returned to duty as best they can, despite being told they'll never run again or have full use of their arms.
"There's no other treatment that can be done ... (but) my focus is to heal, to continue to serve," Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford Jr., who was shot five times and lost most vision in his left eye, testified last month at the hearing.
Survivors and the victims' families are in different stages of grief.
Strangers a year ago, the group - which includes some wounded soldiers and their relatives, emergency personnel and others who helped that day - calls itself the "Nov. 5 family." Group members chat online in a private chat room, share information about military benefits and counseling services, and discuss the latest developments in the case against Hasan.
A few have met a couple of times to place wreaths on the fence.
Joleen Cahill, whose husband Michael Grant Cahill died that day, said she wanted to memorialize the shooting site because, "when I would drive by it, I would see the violence, and there was nothing to negate the violence in that area. I wanted to bring some hope and perhaps a little bit of peace."
More Fort Hood Coverage:
Fort Hood Witness: Gunman Shot Pregnant Soldier
Ft. Hood Rampage Video Allegedly Ordered Deleted
Ft. Hood Relived: "Never Leave a Fallen Comrade"
Fort Hood Victim: Hasan Saw My Eyes, Shot Me
Ft. Hood Hearing Adjourns as Defense Seeks Delay
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